Nihao!
While I wanted to release part one all in one go, I have come to
realize that a. It's
bloody damn big. And b. I'm not too sure I have the characterizations
down. So,
please treat this as less of a chapter and more as a partial rough
draft, a proof of
concept if you will. Any and all comments are welcomed then.
And yeah, I don't own Sailor Moon, nor was I planning to make money
off of this,
nani nani nani...
Jusenkyo Productions Presents
A Sailor Moon Fan Fiction
To Choose
Part 1: Usagi's Choice
Week One
Up and down. Up and down. The rhythm was quite smoothing, very
smoothing actually. She was sure Ami-chan would probably tell her that
her feelings
were part of something programmed into her, probably something that
evolved to
keep one half of a love pair from killing the other half after a bout
of lovemaking
when said half immediately rolls over and falls asleep.
'Mamo-chan could tell me the same thing,' Usagi mused to herself,
a small,
wicked, smile on her face, 'If he hadn't fallen asleep'.
Instead of following that line of thought, she relaxed more, and
snuggled
deeper into the arms of her lover; enjoying the sensation of being
slightly lifted and
dropped by his breathing as she lay entwined with him, her head and
chest resting on
his broader chest. The perfect pillow she had once remarked to him.
Mamoru's response had been a slightly pained expression.
In the warm afterglow of lovemaking, his response was to always
drop off to
sleep. The first few times she HAD wanted to kill him for that, now
though, she
enjoyed it, luxuriated in it actually; this was the time she could be
alone with her
beloved, held close and protected, and not have to worry about Senshi,
Crystal Tokyo,
or her daughter falling on her head again. Besides, he always woke
back up when she
needed or wanted to talk to him, or for more lovemaking.
Now she just studied the face of her partner in so many things,
looking back to
try to see the young high school student who first transformed and
came to literally
sweep her off her feet, the serious college student who spent time
worrying if the
future king of the earth should really choose genetics as a major, and
now, the young
graduate student working hard to study and do all that he could now,
before he was
forced to be the king of the earth and his studies became a hobby.
But like Tuxedo Kamen, those masks were hidden.
"Like my own," Usagi murmured. It was soft, but enough to rouse
him. His
eyes blinked a few times and focused in on her.
"Your own what, Usako?" he asked her, sleep still clouding his
voice.
She sighed, and planted her chin on his chest to gaze into his
eyes and hugged
him a little tighter, "Just remembering, Mamo-chan. And thinking how
surprised my
classmates would be to know they have the mysterious Sailor Moon in
their mist."
He chuckled slightly, "The beautiful warrior of Love and Justice,
at a woman's
college, and still unable to get to class on time."
She turned a small glare on him, "And you have something to say,
Mr.
Honestly-Professor-I-Have-No-Idea-Where-All-The-Experimental-Roses-
Went?" she
asked sweetly.
They both laughed and he pulled her still naked body closer to
his. "I love you,
Usako," he whispered in her ear.
She smiled wider at that, still almost melting with those three
words, no matter
how many times she heard them. 'She is still the same girl she was in
junior high,'
Mamoru thought to himself, 'And then, not quite. In many ways, she's
also more
Serenity now. I think that final battle with Galaxia forced her to
grow up.'
"I love you too, Mamo-chan," Usagi replied.
He chuckled again, "I forgot, whose house are you supposed to be
at tonight?
And how much longer do we have before you need to be there?"
Usagi grinned, "I have all night tonight, I'm supposed to be at
Rei-chan's, but
we worked it out so her grandfather saw and heard us being invited
over to Ami-
chan's, whose mother will swear Mina-chan took us out to a movie and
invited us to
stay there. Mina-chan's mom will claim to not know anything about me,
Rei-chan, and
Ami-chan, but will state that Mina-chan had called her from Mako-
chan's apartment
shortly after the movie ended and said she was going to spend the
night with friends at
Hotaru-chan's house."
Mamoru frowned for a second, working the statement out, "And when
your
dad finally works out where you are supposed to be and calls Hotaru-
san's house?"
Usagi's grin grew impish, "He'll have to answer to Setsuna-san."
"A fate worse than death," Mamoru agreed, then he sighed, "I'm
sorry Usako, I
wish we didn't have to do this."
Usagi sighed as well, "Its ok, Mamo-chan, Mama is working on
Daddy, and he
will let you be with me. I hope," she finished, laying her head fully
on his chest,
listing to his heart beating.
Mamoru frowned, "Still, I don't like having to lie to them."
Usagi sighed, "I don't either, but Daddy..."
"I know, Usako, I still remember him chasing me down the street
with those
golf clubs, swinging, when you brought me to your house to introduce
them to me,
and screaming that if I ever touched you again..."
"And now," Usagi paused, "it's not too different from when we were
in school,
Mamo-chan. We couldn't just announce our love then too." She turned to
look him in
the eyes again, "And your own apartment does come in handy, just think
of the money
we save not having to go to a love hotel?"
Mamoru chuckled again, "I guess so. But I still don't like
dragging everyone
else into this."
"You know they're happy to help, Mamo-chan, just as long as I
share every...
intimate, detail with them afterwards."
Mamoru started in shock, "You WHAT?"
Deep blue eyes looked back in innocence, "Well, Rei-chan wants to
know
what she gave up, Mako-chan wants to know if you're as good as her old
sempai,
Mina-chan says it's her duty as the Goddess of Love to know how well
you perform,
and Ami-chan wants to know how you measure up to her textbooks."
Mamoru groaned and covered his eyes with his hand, "Usako..." he
moaned as
he shook his head.
The blue eyes still held a world of innocence, "Haruka-san and
Michiru-san
want to know how having a man is, and Setsuna-san wants to know if I
thought you
were better in the Silver Millennium."
'I wonder if I could just stay under the blankets for the rest of
my life?'
Mamoru wondered. Then he caught the silent laughter behind that false
innocence.
"Oh, and I hope you've been giving good reports about me."
A small laugh filled the bedroom of Mamoru's apartment, "Well, I
tell them to
go catch their own Prince of Earth and find out."
Mamoru pulled Usagi up for a long serious kiss, "Usako, for that,
I am going
to have to punish you in the name of the moon."
Usagi smiled in the kiss, "That's my line, Mamo-chan." Then she
returned the
kiss with vigor.
Nothing more was heard except the rustling of the bedclothes, and
gasps, for
some time.
***
Morning light, diffused by the curtains on the window, fell on the
slumbering
form of the two lovers, still holding each other. But morning light is
a perverse
creature, and will always find a way to work itself so it shines right
in the face of
those who are trying to get that last bit of sleep.
Mamoru groaned and shifted as the sunlight hit a mirror by his bed
and
bounced right into his eyes. Turning his face away from the mirror, he
managed to
face the window directly, with even brighter light. Giving up, he
opened his eyes and
awoke. From the look of the sunlight, it was probably around 9am; a
quick check of
the clock confirmed that.
A quick check of the soft, warm weight on his now numb arm
confirmed that
Usagi was still asleep. 'She really can sleep though anything,' he
thought. He smiled
gently and bent down to kiss her cheek, "Usako? Come on Usako, it's
time to wake
up."
Usagi grumbled and turned her face into his side. Mamoru thought
he heard
something about tuxedos in her mumblings.
"Usako," he said, kissing her again and gently shaking her
shoulder, "You
need to wake up."
"Five more minutes Mom," was the muffled reply.
Mamoru sighed, bending his head down so it was right by her ear,
he said in
his most authoritarian voice, "Tsukino Usagi! You're late!"
Usagi jumped from the bed, "I'm sorry Daddy! I'm going right now!
I'll make
it, really..." She stopped and looked around the apartment, "Mou!
Mamo-chan?!" she
shrieked and turned back to the bed.
Mamoru raised his arms to ward her off, "I'm sorry, Usako, but we
have to get
you to Hotaru-san's house so you can come home with Rei-san,
remember?"
Usagi still glared at him, "Alright, I'll forgive you, THIS time."
Mamoru got up from the bed and enfolded Usagi in a hug, "I'll buy
you
breakfast to make up for it."
"Yeah! I want pancakes, oh, and bacon, and, um, eggs, eggs are
good. And I
want some coffee, and maybe some rice, and miso soup, and..." Usagi
rambled on
with various breakfast foods while Mamoru started to sweat,
envisioning the damage
about to befall his wallet.
After the largest breakfast in the history of Red Coffee, Mamoru
and Usagi
headed out to the house shared by the outer Senshi. Hotaru's
transformation back into
a young girl had meant that while the rest of the Senshi had finished
high school and
started in on college, she was back in junior high. Haruka and Michiru
still acted as
her guardians, and while Hotaru was not happy to live through, in
effect, the same
schooling twice, with Setsuna around, she was at least acing history.
Usagi watched the various scenery go by from the window of
Mamoru's car.
"So what shall we do next time?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, what was that Usako?" Mamoru asked as he maneuvered
his car
around the narrow streets.
"I said what should we do next week, Mamo-chan? Besides the
obvious?"
Usagi asked, an impish smile playing on her lips.
"Every weekend for a month and a half and you STILL want more?"
Mamoru
asked with a slight chuckle.
Usagi laughed, "You bring out the best and worst in me, Mamo-chan.
I was
thinking of going to go see a movie next time."
Mamoru paused to take a turn, "Ok, Usako. But no Springtime Cherry
Blossoms ok?"
"But it was such a wonderful movie, Mamo-chan!" Usagi pouted. 'I
know he
hates those types of movies' she thought.
"How about you invite Rei and Yuuchiro along, you and Rei and go
see that
movie and Yuuchiro and I can go see something else?" Mamoru asked.
"Aw, you're no fun!" Usagi laughed, then she stopped as a thought
struck her,
"Mamo-chan?"
"Yes, Usako?"
"Has it really been a month and a half?" she asked with a small
worried frown.
Mamoru counted back in his mind, "Yes, it's June now, and we went
to
Karuizawa for Golden Week in May, and we've seen each other every
weekend since
then. Why?"
Usagi shook her head quickly, "It's nothing, Mamo-chan, just
thinking of an
assignment at school that is coming up soon."
Mamoru frowned, 'She's worried about something, and hiding it' he
though.
Before he could pursue his thoughts further though, the arrived at the
house. Usagi
quickly jumped out of the car and grabbed her bag. "I'll call you
later, Mamo-chan?"
"Alright, Usako. Usako, what is..."
Usagi cut him off, "I have to get going now, Mamo-chan, unless you
want to
come in while I report to everyone."
Mamoru groaned again and lowed his head to the steering wheel,
"Usako...".
Said Senshi were busy piling out of the house to stand in the
yard, grinning at
the two lovers.
"You better have shown the Princess a good time, Prince!" Haruka
yelled
loudly, grinning from ear to ear. "Her dad called three times last
night so it better have
been worth it!"
Both Usagi and Mamoru started to blush.
Minako cocked her head to the side, "I don't know, she's upright
and walking,
so he wasn't too good."
Usagi and Mamoru went beet red, along with Ami who gasped out,
"Minako-
chan! Not in public!"
As the rest of the Senshi started to weigh in with their opinions
of Mamoru's
supposed bedroom skills, or lack thereof, Usagi leaned in and kissed
Mamoru. "I love
you, Mamo-chan," she whispered.
Mamoru returned the kiss, "I love you too, Usako."
"Next week then?" she asked.
"Next week," he confirmed and started the car back up. He watched
as she
turned and ran over to her friends, and started joining in the
argument. He started the
pull away and heard "REI-CHAN! WHY ARE YOU SO MEAN?!" being shouted by
his love.
'Sometimes I really wonder about the Senshi' he mused to himself
as the
started to drive back to his apartment, all thoughts of Usagi's worry
forgotten.
***
Usagi stared out the window at the summer night's sky. 'Mamo-chan
was right;
it has been a month and a half.' Maybe something was wrong... this
could just be...
What, Usagi didn't know.
'A month and a half.' It kept running through her mind. 'A month
and a half.'
'I can't be. I mean we were always safe.' Usagi thought. Behind
her, Luna
looked at her charge with worry, when Usagi came home; she had run
upstairs and
hadn't moved since.
"Usagi-chan?" the moon cat asked softly.
Usagi about fell out of the window.
"LUNA!" she screamed, "Don't scare me like that!" she said more
softly this
time.
Luna jumped onto the window still and placed her front paws on
Usagi's lap,
"Usagi-chan, what's wrong?"
"NOTHING! I, er, I mean nothing's wrong, Luna. Why should anything
be
wrong? There's nothing wrong here, nope." Usagi babbled then laughed
that nervous
laughter that after so many years Luna knew meant Usagi was hiding
something, or
had eaten all the cookies.
"Usagi-chan..." Luna tried again, this time putting more of her
worry into her
voice. Usagi winced, and then scooped the cat up into a hug.
"I don't KNOW if anything is wrong Luna, and that's what worries
me." Usagi
said softly.
'What on earth does she mean by that?' Luna wondered.
"Luna," Usagi continued softly, "Do you think I'm bad for wanting
to be a
normal girl a little while longer?"
Luna's face drew into a puzzled frown, for a cat, "Usagi-chan,
it's been three
years since Galaxia, is there some other threat?"
Usagi shook her head, sending her long blond ponytails whipping
around them
both, "No, no, it's not something that needs Sailor Moon. More like...
But I don't
KNOW Luna!"
Luna tried to pretend she knew what Usagi was talking about.
"Maybe you should ask the other Senshi, like Ami-chan or Rei-
chan?" Luna
said hesitantly.
Usagi looked like a drowning person who suddenly has found a
lifeline. "Ami-
chan! That's it!" Dropping Luna on the bed, Usagi dug out her cell
phone and quickly
dialed Ami.
"Mizuno Residence," Ami answered.
"Ami-chan! It's Usagi. Um, after classes tomorrow can I come by
your dorm
room? I REALLY need your help!"
"Usagi-chan, I am not going to do your homework again." Ami
warned.
"It's not that, Ami-chan, it's... Please, I really need your
help." Usagi pleaded.
Ami frowned a little, her princess and best friend had been
withdrawn and
subdued since Mamoru had dropped her off this morning, but none of the
other Senshi
had managed to work out what was bothering her, or get it out of her.
Since starting at Todai, Ami had finally found an intellectual
haven among the
other best and brightest in Japan. No longer did she feel she was
being ostracized by
her classmates for her intelligence. While Biochemistry as a major to
prepare for
medical school was a challenging course of study, she had loved every
minute of it.
But she hadn't forgotten the lessons taught to her by the Senshi,
especially
Usagi. She now knew that there was more to life than just studying,
and her friends
were always more important.
"Of course, Usagi-chan," she said, "I will be done with classes
and studying at
six tomorrow evening."
"I'm done by four, but it will take me three hours to get there.
So, seven then?"
Usagi asked hopefully.
Ami smiled, "Seven it is then. Usagi-chan, what's wrong?"
"I'll tell you tomorrow, Ami-chan. I just... I'll tell you
tomorrow. Thank you!"
Ami frowned again, "See you then, Usagi-chan."
"See you!" Usagi replied then hung up. She closed the cell phone
and put it
back in her pocket.
"Usagi-chan, what IS the matter?" Luna demanded after the phone
call.
"I'll tell you later, Luna. Right now I don't know." Usagi said
and turned back
to the stars.
Luna sighed, then jumped down from the bed and walked started to
walk out
of the room. "Good night, Usagi-chan."
"Good night, Luna," Usagi replied, not turning around from the
window.
Luna's sharper hearing barely caught her charge's whisper of "I'm
not ready to
be a queen yet."
Luna turned back, but Usagi still was looking for answers in the
stars and did
not see the small tear Luna shed.
***
Usagi groaned as one of her alarms went off at 4am. 2 minutes
later, her radio
started to play, two minutes after that, a larger, louder alarm
shrilled its electronic
beeps into the warm darkness.
About a split second later her brother, up since 1am studying,
started pounding
on the wall that separated his room from Usagi's. Thus at 4:15, Usagi
finally crawled
from bed, cursing with every step of the way her father's insistence
that she live at
home when Showa Women's Junior College was almost exactly opposite of
Juuban,
meaning to make her first class at 8:30, she had to catch the 5:07
train for the three
hour commute.
"And all this just because he thinks that if I had my own
apartment Mamo-
chan would never leave," she grumbled to herself, "Even Mina-chan gets
to have HER
own apartment by HER college." The thought of Mamoru brought back the
worries of
yesterday. 'I can't be! I just can't!' she thought fiercely, 'I want
to be Usagi longer, not
Serenity, not now!'
A rather quiet Usagi prepared for the day, quickly dressing,
washing up, and
eating breakfast. The streets of Juuban were still quiet in the early
dawn, although
Usagi wasn't the only one having to make an early commute, other
students, college
and high school, were leaving for far flung schools, and some
salarymen were
weaving down the street on bicycles to the station.
Usagi joined the flow, heading for the station and the long train
ride. 'It's my
own fault' Usagi thought to herself, as she did every morning having
to get up at this
ungodly hour, 'If I had actually studied...'
Time had done what various enemies, jealousies, Makoto's old
sempai stories,
and Minako's attempts at nursing them back to health had not done, it
had split up the
Senshi. All of them remembered what Pluto had said after the defeat of
Galaxia, that
there would be no more battles to fight, that the founding of Crystal
Tokyo would
come soon; although as Haruka remarked, soon for Pluto could be a
lifetime for
everyone else. The Senshi has gone to pursue their dreams, and denied
her dream of
being Mamoru's bride, for now, Usagi had tried for a university, and
had quickly
realized that her skills would not allow her to pass the entrance
exams for anything.
Thankfully, Showa Women's University had an affiliated junior
college, which
was open to anyone without having to pass the entrance exams. Women
who
completed their Associates could then attend the university without
having to take the
exams. It seemed like the perfect idea; she could get a university
education while
waiting for Mamoru, and a major of Humanities and Culture sounded
right for a
future queen.
This was before she found out to make it to the college she would
have to get
up at 4 am everyday, take a three hour train ride, and that Humanities
and Culture was
a lot harder than it sounded.
'At least this early I can get a seat on the train every morning'
Usagi groused to
herself in ill humor as the boarded the train.
As the train ran its course around Tokyo, Usagi stared blankly out
at the
various buildings that were slowly coming to life, or gong to sleep,
her thoughts
returned to their earlier worries. 'I can't be. I just can't. We were
always safe, we
never...'
A stray memory entered her mind, a memory of month and a half ago.
They had gone to Karuizawa, a resort town on the flanks of an
active volcano
in Nagano. Her father had let her go because she had told him it would
be her and her
friends, going for the shopping opportunities and the hot springs.
This was true; he
had seen her off himself to the Shinkansen station to board the bullet
train for the
three-hour ride to Nagano. He had seen the rest of the Senshi there,
all of her friends
chatting and laughing about the Golden Week vacation, the hot springs,
and the
shopping they were going to do.
She just hadn't told him that the rest of the Senshi were bringing
their
boyfriends, and that they were all going to have separate rooms at the
hotel. She really
didn't tell him that Mamoru was waiting for her at the station in
Karuizawa, a place
famous for its shopping, volcano, hot springs, and beauty, and known
throughout
Japan as one of the most romantic places for young lovers; boasting no
less a famous
pairing than the Imperial couple itself.
There they had spent the time looking at various art museums,
eating and
drinking excellent food and coffee, and walking in the surrounding
countryside that
seemed to call for small intimate moments with Mamoru, and of course,
the shopping.
Then they had gone to the hotel, which was on the top of a
mountain next to
the town. It had its own hot spring to relax in after a hard day of
looking, eating,
walking, and shopping. But each room also had private baths, and she
had insisted,
hadn't she, that the bath was big enough for two. She wanted to
combine resting in hot
water with resting in his arms.
And after all those wonderful couple moments, her mind had been on
other
things, hadn't? And the tub had proven not only big enough for two,
but some
movement as well. He had been surprised, at the time, she remembered,
when she had
started, but he didn't stop her, and she didn't stop herself.
So, there WAS one time. But surely, that couldn't be it. It just
couldn't be.
As the train pulled into Sangenjaya Station, Usagi still had one
thought only, 'I
can't be, I am not ready to be Serenity yet, not now, not when I still
want to be only
Usagi.'
It was time to walk the final few blocks to the college, and start
the day's
classes. In a few hours she could see Ami, and find out for sure.
'I can't be, I don't want to be Serenity right now... or a
mother.'
***
The day seemed to have undergone some strange time transformation
that
almost had her calling Setsuna to ask if something had gone wrong.
Sometimes it
seemed that time stopped, not advancing at all, then other times she
would glance at
the clock to realize that a whole period had gone by without her being
aware of it, or
aware of the class. Finally though, four o'clock came, the end of her
day at Showa.
Usagi quietly gathered her things, not responding to various questions
from her
classmates and made her way back to the train for the ride that would
take her to
Tokyo University.
Each step felt as if she was dragging a huge weight on her leg.
She didn't want
to go. If she didn't go, she wouldn't know, and that ignorance seemed
so sweet, like
the ignorance before Luna restored her memories, before she found out
how the future
was already decided for her. She had three years without Sailor Moon,
without the
constant reminders of who she was, and who she would one day be. 'So I
can't. I just
can't be!' she thought, 'I can't be... THAT! I want to be Usagi, not
Serenity, I want...'
Usagi looked up from her walk, 'I'm here.'
She turned into the dormitory of her friend, this time not even
smiling at the
fancy name plaque on the entranceway, as she normally did, that
proclaimed this hall
that serves as residence for students of prestigious Tokyo University
was named
Wombat Hall, a gift from a famous American historian who had insisted
that it be
named that, for some reason.
Instead she rode the elevator in silence and knocked on the door
to the room of
her friend.
Ami opened the door, and quickly hid a frown; Usagi looked as if
Mamoru
had just declared he really loved Rei. Ami had never seen her friend
so depressed, or
worried. "Usagi-chan, please come in."
"I am sorry for bothering you," Usagi said in a flat voice as she
moved into the
room.
Ami shared the room with one other person; it was easy to see
which side
belonged to which person. One side was a riot of colors and posters of
SMAP,
KinkiKids, and Uteda Hikaru, plus other popular figures, decorated the
wall, and the
desk was a cluttered mess surrounding the computer.
The other side was cool, blue shades populated the bed. The walls
were
unadorned except by a framed drawing of Sailor Mercury that Usagi
recognized as
being something she had made and given Ami for her birthday last year.
The
bookshelf was crammed full of books, and topped with four framed
photos, one was
Ami's mother, one of her father, one was of Urawa-kun, her boyfriend,
and the final
one was a large group shot of all the Senshi, not in uniform, taken
during the
Karuizawa trip.
Ami's desk was oddly empty though, unlike most students, she
didn't have
most of her desk space taken up by a computer or other related
equipment.
Ami gestured for her friend to sit on the bed while she herself
sat on the chair
at her desk. "Usagi-chan, what's wrong? You've been worried about
something since
yesterday."
Usagi started to speak, then stopped and looked around, "Ami-chan,
where's
Katsuyama-san?"
Ami looked over the mess that was her roommate's side of the room,
"She's
staying in the library to study, and she said she won't be back till
eight at the earliest."
Usagi nodded to herself, "Ami-chan. I need your help. I... Ami-
chan,
remember the trip to Karuizawa?"
Ami frowned at the sudden shift in topics, but nodded affirmative.
"Mamo-chan and I, there was a time I mean when Mamo-chan and I
were
together." Usagi stated.
Ami looked puzzled, "Usagi-chan, you and Mamoru-san usually are
together."
"I mean we were TOGETHER, together. You know what I mean?"
Ami blinked a few times then started to blush, "Oh! Yes, I
understand. But...?"
Usagi took a deep breath, trying to say what she couldn't even
think about.
"Ami-chan, that was a month and a half ago. I haven't had my period
since then."
Ami stopped moving for a second, finally she stuttered out,
"B..b..but you and
Mamoru-san, I mean, you use protection right?"
Usagi nodded, "But there was one time in the hotel. I'm hoping; I
really hope
that I am just late. When I was younger my period wasn't regular
so..."
Ami just stared at Usagi, "Usagi-chan," she said gently, "This is
too long, even
for an irregular period. And you are old enough that you shouldn't
be."
Tears formed in Usagi's eyes, "I was hoping though, Ami-chan, that
you
would say it could be."
Ami reached across from the chair and hugged her friend, "I'm
sorry, Usagi-
chan," she said simply.
Usagi returned the hug, and then drew back a little and released
Ami. "Ami-
chan, could you make sure? I mean, with your computer?"
Ami nodded, "Of course, Usagi-chan. Why don't you lie back on the
bed ok?"
Usagi swung her hips and legs fully onto the bed and stretched out
on Ami's
bed. Ami had pulled the Mercury Computer from, somewhere, and opened
it. She
started to type rapidly, telling the computer what she wanted it to
scan for and to
narrow the search down to just Usagi, she didn't want to know how many
of her dorm
mates were pregnant, a result that could happen with the power of the
Mercury
Computer if she didn't limit it. She then passed the computer over
Usagi's nether
regions.
"Hang on, Usagi-chan, this should take a minute," Ami noted.
Usagi nodded. A minute later a soft beeping came from the machine.
Ami read
the screen and nodded, "Ok. It's done."
Usagi sat up and looked at her Senshi, "And?"
"And yes," Ami said gently, "You are about 3 to 5 weeks pregnant.
Congratulations, Usagi-chan, you're going to be a mother!" she said
the last with a
bright smile.
The blood drained out of Usagi's face at the pronouncement though.
"I don't
want to be though," she whispered.
Ami looked at Usagi with concern, "Usagi-chan?"
"I don't want to be a mother now, not now!"
"But that's Chibi-Usa, that means..." Ami started to say.
"That's what I don't want! Ami-chan, you know what that means. It
means
Crystal Tokyo is here, now! It means I can't be Usagi any more, I have
to be Serenity,
the queen!"
"But..." Ami tried again
"Ami-chan, don't you see?" Usagi's voice was getting hysterical,
"I can't finish
school, none of us can now. We won't be Ami and Usagi anymore; we'll
be Senshi
Mercury and Neo-Queen Serenity. I won't be able to marry Mamo-chan and
be his
bride; I'll be marring Neo-King Endymion. How can I be his bride? How
can I have a
small wedding with just my friends and family, how can I do things
that brides are
supposed to do like cook, how can I, when I will be the queen of the
Earth?"
Ami just looked at Usagi in shock, "Usagi-chan, don't you want to
be queen
and see Crystal Tokyo, what we fought for, for so long?"
Tears started to fall, not the river filling bawls she would let
lose, but silent
tears that streamed down Usagi's face and started turned the blue
blanket on Ami's bed
a darker shade. "I do, but not now. I want to be Usagi right now; I
just want to be
Usagi again."
Ami reached out to her princess, her best friend, the one whom she
had died
for and would willingly do so again, and pulled her into a deep hug.
"I understand,
Usagi-chan. I understand," she repeated, hugging the once and future
queen tight and
rocking slowly.
After a few minutes of nothing being said, and nothing heard but
soft sobs
from Usagi, Ami finally pulled back a little to look Usagi in the
eyes. "Usagi-chan,
you need to tell Mamoru-san about this and start seeing a doctor."
Usagi looked a little panicked, "I can't see a doctor, what if
they decide to tell
my parents? If Daddy finds out that Mamo-chan got me pregnant..."
Ami sighed, she knew what she was going to say next would really
put a cat
among the canaries, "Usagi-chan, I think you should tell them too. You
won't be able
to hide this from them, and you are going to need the support of your
family."
Usagi's eyes widened in alarm, "I can't! I can't tell them! Ami-
chan, Daddy
will, my father, Ami-chan you have no idea what he'll do. He'll try to
kill Mamo-chan.
He'll ground me till I turn 99, I can't tell him! How can I tell them
that I really
screwed up?"
"Usagi, you NEED to tell them..."
"NO! NO! I can't! I won't!"
Ami sighed with frustration. Unfortunately Usagi, once she was
panicked
could only have her mind changed by two people, one was Mamoru, and
the other
was Rei. "Usagi-chan, if nothing else, you need to tell the rest of
the Senshi. If Crystal
Tokyo is coming soon, they need to know."
Usagi nodded silently, just as long as she didn't have to tell her
parents. Ami
stood up, "Why don't you call Mamoru-san and ask him to take you back
home and
I'll call everyone and we'll meet at the shrine tomorrow evening?"
Usagi nodded again and also stood.
Ami hugged her friend one last time, "Usagi-chan, we'll be there
for you.
Always, and you will always be Usagi to us, not Serenity."
"Thank you, Ami-chan!" Usagi wailed and started to crush the life
out of Ami
in a bear hug.
"Usagi-chan! I need to breathe! I can't call everyone if I can't
breathe!" Ami
said desperately flailing her arms around.
Usagi released Ami with a small laugh and blushed a little, "I'm
sorry, Ami-
chan."
Ami smiled, "Call Mamoru-san, I'll start calling everyone else."
Usagi nodded and got out her cell phone. Dialing the number from
memory
she quickly spoke, "Mamo-chan? Could you give me a ride home? I'm at
Ami-chan's
dorm." She paused, "I have something I need to tell you." She paused
again, "I can't
say over the phone, Mamo-chan, it's very important and I need to tell
you tonight."
One more pause, "Ok, I'll see you soon. I love you Mamo-chan."
Ami and Usagi spent the last half hour going over what Usagi would
need to
do.
"Just remember to eat well, Usagi-chan, less junk food and more
healthier
foods. Actually I've read that a more traditional Japanese diet will
be the best for you
during your pregnancy," Ami finished; Usagi winced once again when she
heard the
word.
"And, you really need to see a doctor," Ami continued, she reached
over and
took one of Usagi's hands in hers. "Usagi-chan," she said to the head
shaking blond,
"you must! There is prenatal care that you HAVE to have. It's not just
for you, it's for
the health of your baby, for Chibi-Usa."
"I can't," Usagi said in a small voice, "What if they tell my
parents? Couldn't
you do it?"
Ami sighed, "Usagi-chan, I am a first year student here, not even
in medical
school, I can't provide you the care that you need, not yet." Ami
thought for a moment,
"My mother is a pediatric, not a gynecologist, but she might be able
to help you out
for now until you see the doctors you really need to see."
"But she'll tell!"
Ami shook her head, "She won't, she's good at keep secrets; trust
me on this.
Usagi-chan, she won't tell them unless you say so."
The buzzer for the door sounded, startling them both. "That must
be Mamoru-
san," Ami said. "Why don't we talk about this tomorrow when you tell
the rest of the
Senshi?"
Usagi nodded and slowly got up from the bed. "Thank you, Ami-
chan."
Ami gave her friend one final hug, "Be happy, Usagi-chan, this is
supposed to
be a joyous time."
Usagi just sighed and walked out the door.
Ami watched the door closed and winced when it clicked shut. It
almost did
seem like the door was closing on Usagi's innocence. She hadn't
thought, really
thought about what Crystal Tokyo would mean to Usagi. 'I guess we all
just assumed
that Usagi wanted to be queen. We should have known better,' Ami
mused. She
sighed once more and reached for her cell phone and quickly dialed a
number.
"Hi, may I speak with Dr. Mizuno please?"
"This is her daughter, Ami."
A pause or two, and Ami winced as the wait music came on, 'Why'
she
wondered for the umpteenth time, 'Does my mother's hospital have to
use American
country music for hold music? And why does it have to be filled with
so much static?'
"Mother? I have to talk to you; I am going to need your help."
"No, this is not Senshi business, well, not quite."
"I can't really say over the phone, but are you coming home this
weekend?"
"Ok, I'll see you then."
"Yes, Mother, my studies are going well."
"I love you too, bye".
***
Mamoru waited at the front of Wombat Hall, trying to figure out
why Usagi
would sound so depressed over the phone. He hadn't felt that
particular tug that let
him know she was in danger and had sent him racing across Tokyo in the
past in a
tuxedo. But from the tone of her voice on the phone, he knew something
was wrong,
very wrong. She sounded like all the life had been drained from her.
That life, the wonderful joy that she found in everything, was one
of the many
things he loved about her. He was a professional cynic, always ready
to see the bad,
always ready for failure, but she was the total antithesis of his
worldview. To her, the
world and everything in it was wonderful, and worth fighting for, and
it was a fight
they would win.
But her voice on the phone sounded like all the joy had gone. And
as he saw
her walk out of the elevator and across the lobby to the door, his
worry heightened, it
was as if the sun had suddenly cut out and stopped projecting warmth
and light.
She didn't hug him, she didn't yell his name; she didn't even say
hi; she just
brushed past him and went to his waiting car and climbed into the
passenger side.
Mamoru followed and got into the car himself and started it up. He
turned to
his beloved and also tried to start, "Usako..."
She cut him off, "Just take me home, Mamo-chan." Usagi started to
shake with
suppressed sobs, "Take me home. I'll... I'll tell you on the way," she
choked out.
Mamoru guided the car onto an expressway and headed towards
Juuban, all
the time glancing worriedly at the occupant of his passenger seat.
Half way back,
Usagi finally spoke in a small, quiet voice that made his heart ache.
"Mamo-chan, remember Karuizawa?" she asked.
"Of course, Usako, what...?"
"Remember our first night there, in the bathtub?" she continued.
"Yes, I do," Mamoru said, wondering where this was going.
"Mamo-chan, I'm a month and a half late."
Mamoru, trying to reconcile 'late' with 'bathtub' and also shying
away from the
obvious, engaged mouth before engaging brain, "Late for what, Usako?"
he asked
confusedly.
She shot him a hurt filled glare. She took a deep breath and said
it in words
that even Mamoru couldn't misunderstand; "I'm a month and a half late
for my period.
Ami-chan just confirmed it; I am pregnant with YOUR child, Chiba
Mamoru!"
Mamoru's resulting swerve almost took them into the barrier wall
on the side
of the expressway.
Mamoru almost blurted out 'Are you sure?' followed by 'How did
this
happen?' but managed to catch the look Usagi was giving him and
decided he didn't
want to die at the hands of the mother of his child. Instead he took
the next exit off the
expressway, noting her unasked question he simply stated, "We had
better talk about
this, Usako, and I don't want to cause an accident."
Usagi simply nodded.
Mamoru continued, "Besides, you are the most important thing to
me, and
deserve my full attention, especially now."
Usagi gave him a grateful look and nodded again.
He drove for a few minutes before parking by a children's
playground. He
killed the engine and turned to Usagi. "So...?" he left it hanging,
not sure where to
start.
Usagi spoke quietly, looking down at her lap where she kept
clenching and
unclenching her fists, "Yesterday when you said we had been sleeping
together for a
month and a half straight this time, I remembered that I hadn't had my
period at all. I
should have had it about a week or so after we went to Karuizawa."
She looked up at him for a second; then quickly looked back at her
lap. "I
didn't even think about it until yesterday. But we had been so safe,
we always used a
condom so, I thought... But then I remembered that first night in the
hotel."
Mamoru shivered slightly at the memory of steam, hot water, soap,
and Usagi.
"And so I went to Ami-chan's room to see if she could scan me with
her
computer. She said..." Usagi stopped, sounding as if she had
suppressed another sob,
"she said I was pregnant."
Mamoru's mouth moved a few times without saying anything. Then he
swallowed hard and finally found his voice, "How long?" His voice was
also quiet, if
somewhat higher pitched than normal.
Usagi finally met his eyes, "Ami-chan says about 3 to 5 weeks. She
says a
fuller and longer scan could know how long for sure."
"I see," Mamoru said softly and turned to gaze out the window of
his car. In
the twilight, he saw a man and a young girl walking down the narrow
street, maybe
coming to the park to play. The girl was probably about 5, her black
hair done up in
pigtails and she was wearing a pair of pink and blue overalls. She ran
around the legs
of the older man, who was in his late twenties or early thirties.
He laughed at her antics and she giggled back; a father and
daughter, Mamoru
suddenly realized. For a moment, his imagination gave the young girl
pink hair done
up in a familiar odongo style and gave the father a lavender cape, and
a white mask.
'That is going to be me soon' Mamoru thought to himself. 'A father, I
am going to be a
father!'
"Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked hesitantly, he had just zoned out on her.
'Maybe
he's thinking of something,' as he turned back to her, with a strange
look on his face,
her wonder turned to fear, 'Maybe he wants to break up with me now.'
Her mind sped through various stories whispered to her by
classmates at
Showa, how so and so had gotten so and so pregnant, and how he had
immediately
dumped her, declaring that he couldn't be the father and she must have
been sleeping
around. How he left quickly to leave her to deal with the pregnancy,
or the abortion.
"Mamo-chan?" she asked again, fearfully this time, dreading the
answer she
might receive, but needing to know all the same.
"Usako," Mamoru said a little hoarsely, "I'm sorry for this, this
is my fault for
not insisting on protection all the time. I should have controlled
myself better. But..."
Usagi closed her eyes, tears starting to already form, 'Here it
comes,' she
thought, 'rejection.'
"But," Mamoru continued, "in a way, I am glad."
Usagi's eyes snapped open and she looked at Mamoru, who was now
smiling,
in shock, "What?" she demanded.
"I know that the timing is a little bad, and I know you must be
worried about
your family, but it means we're going to be parents. Usako, we're
going to be a
family!" Mamoru exclaimed almost joyfully.
At first Usagi was surprised, she had expected rejection, but
this... this...?
Then she grew alarmed, she didn't WANT to be pregnant now, and she
needed
someone to understand that, since Ami hadn't, she was counting on
Mamoru. But
Mamoru, Mamoru WANTED this child, he wanted this... family. She
finally
understood, the family that was taken from him by the car accident, he
wanted it back.
What had she once said to him? 'Don't worry, Mamo-chan, I'll be
your family.'
She had said that shortly before Fiore had attacked. For her, this
child meant the lost
of herself as Usagi, but to Mamoru it meant the gaining of all he ever
wanted, a family.
While Usagi struggled with these thoughts, Mamoru himself was
thinking hard.
'She doesn't seem to want to this,' he figured out. 'But why? This
means Crystal Tokyo
will be founded soon.' His thoughts paused and grabbed onto the fact,
and provided
him with the image he had just imagined, he and Chibi-Usa, father and
daughter. But
he was not Chiba Mamoru in the image; he was the Neo-King, co-ruler of
all the
Earth and Moon.
And while a year of having his future daughter with him had
branded into his
mind that her name was Chibi-Usa, it really wasn't. No, their
daughter's real name was
Serenity, named after her mother, the queen, as was the custom in the
Silver
Millennium.
And what did his Usako want here and now? His memory replayed
moment
after moment of their lives together after Galaxia. Her constant talk
of getting married
and being a bride, of going to college and maybe a university, of
trying to cook him
food, of being a normal young woman in Tokyo in love.
He had wanted a family, he realized, she had wanted one too, but
the key word
was normal.
"Usako!" Mamoru spoke...
Just as she exclaimed, "Mamo-chan!"
They both paused for a second, then Usagi tried to speak again,
but Mamoru
cut her off.
"Usako, listen to me now, ok? I know you want a normal life, and
this scares
you. But, I will support you, in everything. No matter what it is, I
will be there, and
you will always be my Usako, always."
"Mamo-chan, I don't want this right now." She looked into his
eyes, her bright
blue meeting his darker blue, "I want to be Usagi right now, I wanted
to get married to
you, and be your bride. I wanted to see you graduate, to see all of us
graduate and
follow our dreams before we had to give them all up to be the queen
and king of
Crystal Tokyo. I wanted my friends to have the same, before they had
to always be
the Senshi." She paused, "I'm not ready to be Serenity, not right now.
I'm scared,
Mamo-chan, I am so scared."
Mamoru's response was to just pull her into a deep embrace, "I'm
here for you,
Usako, and I always will be. No matter what." His lips quirked, "We've
survived
breaking up, me getting brainwashed, Galaxia destroying the Senshi and
me, and
dying, twice. I think we can survive an unplanned pregnancy."
Usagi laughed, though her laughter seemed to have a hysterical
twinge to it,
"You forgot believing you were from Saudi Arabia, Mamo-chan."
"I still don't know why my powers chose such a strange outfit; at
least the
tuxedo makes some sense."
Usagi said nothing, just held on to him like he would disappear
again, like the
Moonlight Knight.
Mamoru continued to hold her, "Usako, Usagi," he said. She looked
back up at
the use of her proper name; "I died for you in the Silver Millennium,
to be reborn for
you now. I died for you again, willingly, this life. I have been
waiting for you for
25,000 years; I will not leave you alone now."
"Oh Mamo-chan, thank you!" Usagi's relief was evident in her
voice. "I was
scared, some classmates told me stories of how boys run off, after
hearing their
girlfriends got pregnant I mean."
"I won't run, Usako."
"Mamo-chan? Will you come with me tomorrow? I have to tell them,
tell the
rest of the Senshi," she asked. "I'm not brave enough to, not alone."
"Of course." Mamoru looked away again, "Usako, when are we going
to tell
your family?"
Usagi stiffened, "I don't know," she said in a small voice that
almost shook
with fear. "Mama... Mama will cry, and Daddy," she stopped and looked
at Mamoru.
"Your father will probably kill me," Mamoru sighed. He knew he
really
couldn't blame the man, he had felt as protective of his own daughter,
both the future
version and now.
"I can't tell them, Mamo-chan, not right now," Usagi said.
Mamoru rubbed his forehead in thought, "Usako, there IS an
alternative."
"How?"
"We could get married. At the end of June you turn 20, right? You
won't need
your parent's permission anymore for the paperwork."
"But, the witnesses..."
"Haruka-san, Michiru-san, and Setsuna-san are all over 20," he
reminded her.
Usagi blinked, she hadn't considered that, the law did say at 20
she no longer
needed parental permission. She had been so busy dreaming of the
wedding, she had
forgotten that, by law, a marriage only takes place at the ward
office, when she and he
presented the paperwork to have her name taken off her family's
registry and
transferred to his.
While it would take her from worrying about her father and the law
would
protect her from him, since she would be under the care of Mamoru,
still...
"Mamo-chan, I can't. I can't do that to my family. Mama wants to
see us
married, with the wedding. I want the wedding, and I don't want to be
disowned by
my father. I do love him, even when he's like this and I refuse to
hurt him."
Mamoru smiled, she was still thinking of others, even now. She was
truly the
woman he loved, and would always. "Of course, Usako. Still, we should
do this right,
will you marry me?"
"WHAT?!" Usagi's shriek shattered the calm night, brought a number
of
people racing out of their homes in that quiet neighborhood, and
practically deafened
the occupants of the car.
Mamoru shook his head to clear his ringing ears, and then tried
again. "We are
going to be parents, Usako; I want us to be a family. I love you, and
have loved you
since you were the princess of the moon and our love was forbidden, I
love you now
as a Japanese woman, and will love you when you are the queen of the
earth. Tsukino
Usagi, will you marry me?"
For the first time in her life, Usagi didn't know what to say.
***
The red sports car stopped a few blocks from her house; Usagi
quietly got out
of the left side and gathered her bags. "I'll see you tomorrow at the
shrine, Mamo-
chan?" she asked.
Mamoru leaned over the passenger seat, "Usako..., please..."
Usagi bent down and put her finger to his lips, silencing him with
the gesture.
She smiled a small smile, "I love you, Mamo-chan, but..."
"But that's why!" Mamoru started to protest around her finger.
Usagi pressed her finger again into his lips, "Mamo-chan, I want
to marry you,
and one day we will. But I want it without you feeling you HAVE to
because I am,"
she looked around for a second at the deserted street, no one, cat or
otherwise, could
been seen, "pregnant," she whispered the last word.
"But!"
"Mamo-chan, ask me again, later, but not now."
Mamoru nodded, he was obviously unhappy, but did not want to push
the
issue with Usagi. "I understand," he said. "I'll see you tomorrow at
the shrine."
Usagi stood back up, "I love you, Mamo-chan."
"I love you too, Usako," he replied. He watched her start to walk
down the
street back to her house, till she turned the corner and was gone from
his sight. He
could still feel her presence; the bond they shared let him always
know she was safe,
if not where she was or what she was doing at the time. It had been
there right at the
beginning, prompting him to transform without knowing it, and since
the fight with
Galaxia it was stronger than ever. But he couldn't use it to get Usagi
to understand he
really did love her, and had wanted to ask her to marry him before
finding out about
the baby.
He drove away into the night.
***
Usagi returned to her house and quietly went up to her room. She
tossed
herself on the bed, burrowing her face into the pillow. A small thump
and a quick
shake of the bed alerted her she was not alone. A small weight slowly
made its way
up her back then climbed down into the hollow between her arm and
head.
"Usagi-chan?" Luna asked. "Did Ami-chan help you?"
Usagi turned a tear stained face to the guardian cat, Luna gasped,
"Usagi-chan!
What happened? What's wrong?!"
Usagi pulled Luna closer to her, and started to cry, silent tears
flowed into the
Moon Cat's dark fur. "I'll... I'll tell you t.t.tomorrow, L.L.Luna,"
Usagi sobbed, "Don't
ask!"
Luna started to purr has loud and as hard as she could. Not saying
anything,
just purring and staying with Usagi. She didn't stop till the young
woman cried herself
to sleep.
***
The next evening, Usagi slowly made her way up the stone steps to
Hikawa
Shrine. Step by step she was climbing to her destiny. Once, she had
wanted it. As a
child she had wanted more than anything to be a beautiful princess,
and marry a
handsome prince, and live in a wonderful palace together.
'And now, I'm a princess with a handsome prince who would give
anything to
be a normal girl who can marry her normal boyfriend and live together
in a normal
house,' Usagi thought bitterly.
She paused for a second and placed her hand over her lower
abdomen, 'Chibi-
Usa-chan,' she thought to the child developing within her, 'it's not
that I don't want
you, it's that I wish you could have waited a little longer.'
She continued up the last few steps and stopped right before the
tori gate. She
hadn't really ever paid that much attention to religion before, if
pressed she might
have claimed some Shinto beliefs, but couldn't say what those beliefs
were. She did
remember one afternoon, some years back, when she and Rei were the
only ones left
after a Senshi meeting. She had stayed to help Rei clean, well, really
to finish off the
cookies and watch Rei clean.
"Hey, Rei-chan," she had said around a mouth full of cookies, as
the shrine
maiden swept under the large tori, "what are tori anyway?"
Rei had given her one of those looks that spoke volumes about her
view on
Usagi's intelligence. Then she looked up fondly to the massive gate,
on which she
could see Phoebes and Demos perched, sunning themselves. "It's a gate,
meatball
head!" Rei had said, "It separates the holy ground, the world of the
kami, from the
regular world."
Usagi brought her thoughts back to the present, 'And right now, it
is the gate
separating Usagi from Serenity.' She closed her eyes, and stepped
through.
Across the stone path leading to the shrine proper, Rei was busy
sweeping.
She looked up at the sounds of footsteps and almost dropped her broom.
Usagi was
here. The meeting wasn't going to be for another 15 minutes, but Usagi
was here,
early, without Ami, Mamoru, or herself to bring Usagi to the shrine
early.
'Something HAS to be wrong, Usagi couldn't make it early to
anything if her
life depending on it!' the senshi of fire thought to herself.
Last night, Ami had called saying Usagi was calling a meeting of
all the
Senshi, and that there was something very important that everyone
needed to know
about, but the blue-haired girl refused to say what or why, only
noting that it was
Usagi's place to tell them all.
Watching her best friend slowly make her way to the shrine, Rei
had the
feeling that whatever it was she had to tell them, it wasn't joyful
news.
Usagi didn't see Rei till she almost bumped into her, "Oh, uh, hi,
Rei-chan"
Usagi said; obviously trying to inject her normal cheerfulness into
her voice, and
failing.
Rei carefully leaned the broom down then turned back to Usagi.
Usagi looked
around for the first time, "Where's everyone else?" Usagi asked.
Something in her tone of voice convinced Rei that now was not the
time to
indulge in her favorite hobby of Usagi teasing. "Usagi, you're fifteen
minutes early,"
Rei said without her usual rancor.
Usagi blinked and looked around the shrine grounds, as if she too
couldn't
believe she was early to something without the intervention of
someone. "I am? I
thought I was late, Rei-chan."
Rei's worry was growing exponentially, "Why don't you come in?
I've just
made some cookies and some tea for everyone." 'Food HAS to do it, food
always
makes Usagi happy.'
Usagi started moving towards the house, but was shaking her head,
"No thanks,
Rei, I'm... I'm not really that hungry."
Now Rei was REALLY worried. Usagi not hungry? Either she had been
taken
over by a youma or something was really wrong. And since Rei didn't
sense any
feelings of evil, just the normal pureness that radiated from Usagi,
it had to be the
latter instead of the former. From behind her friend, Rei asked
softly, "Usagi-chan,
what's wrong?"
Usagi froze in her steps, but didn't turn around. "I... Please,
Rei-chan, I'll tell
you when the others get here."
Some of Rei's fire vented, "Oh, you could tell Ami, but you can't
tell me now
huh?" she snapped.
Usagi shook her head and turned to face Rei, "No! Ami-chan found
out, but I,
I don't have the strength to say it more than once. Please, Rei-chan!
Please wait for
everyone else."
Rei actually took a step backwards in regards to the panic that
she could see
Usagi barely holding in. Whatever this was, it was not good. "Ok,
Usagi," she said
quietly, "I'll wait."
Usagi nodded and continued her walk into Rei's house. Rei watched
at the
door shut. 'What on Earth...?' she wondered.
A few moments later, more footsteps alerted her to the arrival of
others.
Turning, she saw Ami, with Luna hanging over her shoulder, with
Makoto, and
Minako, who had Artemis perched on her shoulder, walking up the final
steps. The
close roar of a sports car told her that the outers had arrived as
well. All that was
missing was Mamoru, who when he had been included on a semi-regular
basis in
Senshi meetings would just show up out of nowhere. Rei had complained
numerous
times that he did just so he could practice being mysterious.
She had never caught him perching on anything waiting for the
chance to
swoop down mysteriously though.
She glanced back to the house, then back to the knot of arriving
senshi, to see
that Mamoru was now in the middle of the group.
"He did it," she grumbled to herself, "again."
They all had finally arrived and had started to settle down, each
around the
table, facing Usagi, who sat alone at the head, though she was flanked
on either side
by Mamoru and Ami. In years past, the division might have been Outers
on one side,
if they had shown at all, with Inners on the other. Three years of
Usagi's particular
brand of friendship, accepting all and assuming that everyone would
accept each other
had finally filled the wide gap between the two teams. Once more they
were the
Senshi, not Inners and Outers. They would never disappoint their
princess.
So, as Rei went around the table, serving tea and cookies, she was
answering
questions tossed to her from Michiru about the curricula of the music
program at T*A
College, and asking a few herself about the prestigious Tokyo College
of Music
which Michiru attended. Most of the Senshi had relaxed into talking
with old friends.
Most of the Senshi.
Minako and Hotaru were giggling together over Minako's latest
boyfriend
disaster, and having a small debate on when Hotaru would EVER find a
boyfriend,
and if Haruka would kill him first. Haruka was attempting to get
Makoto to fix her
and Michiru a special dinner in exchange for a complete tune up,
Makoto was holding
out for more than just a tune up, angling for some modifications from
the famous
Motor Car Club that Haruka belonged to in exchange for a dinner made
by her and
one of her teachers at Le Cordon Bleu-Tokyo. The Cats had gone off to
one corner of
the room and were talking quietly with Luna tossing worried looks at
Usagi. And
Setsuna sat and quietly sipped her tea.
Rei finished the passing out of food and sat between Mamoru and
Haruka. The
conversations slowly died out as by some unseen signal they awaited
whatever it was
Usagi was going to tell them.
Usagi had spent the time looking at the polished wood of the
table, not really
noticing her friends. She was barely aware of Ami and Mamoru on either
side of her
trying to provide support. The untouched pile of cookies in front of
her was noticed
by all, as well as her downcast mood.
Finally, Minako broke the silence, "Um, so, Usagi-chan, what's
going on?
Ami-chan said it was important and that we shouldn't let Hell or low
water stand in
our way."
Ami groaned, "That was high water, Minako-chan, Hell or high
water."
"Whatever."
Everyone ignored another Minako mangling and concentrated on
Usagi.
The young woman spoke softly, not really raising her head,
"Everyone, I have
something to tell you. I'm, I'm sorry, but it means we're going to
have to give up a
lot."
Haruka frowned and leaned forward onto the table to try and catch
Usagi's eye.
"New threat, Neko?" the blond senshi asked, dressed, as always, in
men's clothing.
Across the table from her, Makoto also leaned in an unconscious
copying of the
Outer's movement. The both of them had felt that they, the best
fighters of the Senshi,
had failed the most during Galaxia's attack. A chance word or two from
Luna had
brought the two together to train and had formed a new friendship.
Usagi shook her head slightly. She looked up when she felt a hand
on her
shoulder, turning to look at Mamoru who gave her an encouraging smile
and a
squeeze. Usagi glanced over at Ami who nodded once. She finally faced
her friends,
and saw there nothing but concern and love, giving her the strength,
as always, to face
what needed to happen.
"No, not a new threat, Haruka-san, I'm pregnant," Usagi said.
You could have heard a pin drop. It seemed as if the world, or
time itself, had
stopped for a second; until Setsuna raised her cup and sipped some
more tea.
Finally Minako broke the silence, "Um, Usagi-chan, I must be
hearing things.
I thought you said you were pregnant."
Usagi nodded, "I did; I am."
Minako nodded, a bright, maniacal smile on her face, "Oh, I guess
I'm not
hearing things," the blond commander of the Senshi said calmly. Then
she took a deep
breath, "Usagi-chan?" she said sweetly. "Could you please then tell me
HOW THE
HELL THIS HAPPENED?"
Usagi winced and then seem to rally, annoyance and worry causing
her to
answer back, "Well, gee, Mina-chan, YOU'RE the one with all the
boyfriends. I
thought you'd know all about the whole insert tab A into slot B and
rub vigorously
thing."
Where silence had been, now came pandemonium. Mamoru found himself
confronted by an angry priestess and a cat.
"YOU!" Luna yelled, bounding across the table to where he sat, her
tail
bristled like a cleaning brush, "You, you, you..."
"You animal!" Rei shrieked, rounding on the young man.
"Rei-chan!" Luna complained.
Rei turned to the cat and calmly apologized, "I'm sorry, Luna. I
didn't mean to
group this... man, with animals who have much better sense."
"That's ok, Rei-chan," Luna said magnanimously, "I understand."
Then both
turned to Mamoru, who had started to sweat and wave his hands as if to
ward them off.
"How could you, you brute? I TRUSTED you with her. I felt that
you, Prince
of Earth, would have the intelligence not to knock up the Moon
Princess!" Luna
yelled at Mamoru, her paws on his chest and her face in his.
He turned his head to be confronted by an equally up close and
personal Rei.
"You idiot!" she screamed, "I set up and acted as cover all those
times because YOU
promised me you'd take care of her, that you wouldn't take advantage
of her."
"It was an accident!" Mamoru protested.
"An accident?" Luna scoffed, "You do know this is why we neuter
male cats,
right? It would be a shame is such an 'accident' was to befall you,
Mamoru-kun." The
sudden pricking of her claws on his chest told Mamoru where she was
heading with
this statement. He blanched.
"But don't worry, Mamoru-kun," Rei said sweetly, "I'll make sure
the wound is
NICE and cauterized."
Mamoru's face went even whiter.
While Mamoru was fighting with a cat, the other was trying to
break up a cat
fight.
"Um, guys, this isn't helping you know," Artemis said.
"How could you not tell us?" Makoto demanded.
"Exactly! We're supposed to be like fleas in a pod," Minako
exclaimed.
Ami was so agitated that she didn't even bother correcting Minako,
her eyes
narrowed and she spoke in an icy voice, "Because it was Usagi-chan's
news, NOT
mine. And there's this little think called doctor-patient
confidentiality. I may not be a
doctor yet, but I will not betray or talk about those who come to me
for help. As I
recall, BOTH of you have. Would you like me to tell everyone here
about your little
problems?"
Hotaru, Haruka, and Michiru were having a small family discussion.
"Does this mean I can baby sit Chibi-Usa-chan?" Hotaru asked
hopefully.
Both Haruka and Michiru looked as if someone had hit them upside
the back
of the head with a board, Michiru nodded absently to Hotaru.
Setsuna sipped her tea and noted to no one in general, "This is
why I spend
most of my time with the time gate."
Usagi finally had enough; she slammed her hands down on the table
and
pushed herself to her feet, spilling tea everywhere. "Shut UP! All of
you!" She glared
at each of the arguing groups. "This is NOT Mamo-chan's fault. I was
the one who
started sleeping with him, and fucked him during a time where he could
not possibly
have a condom on him. And I asked Ami-chan to not tell anyone because
this is MY
problem, not hers."
The rest were shocked into silence by Usagi's rage. A rage which
quickly
turned to tears, "I called you here to tell you that Crystal Tokyo is
now here," she
placed her hand on her abdomen, "this child means our lives are going
to change and I
didn't want you to lose your dreams this time without a choice, or
knowing." She
glared at them all once more, "But I don't know why I bothered." With
that, she turned
and fled.
"Usako!" Mamoru called and struggled to his feet, tossing Luna,
who let lose a
startled yowl, off his chest. He too glared at the assembled group,
but left without
saying a word.
"Um, what just happened?" Makoto asked.
Ami sighed, "Usagi-chan is not happy. She thinks that this birth
means she has
to give up being Usagi and has to be Serenity. She also thinks that
since Crystal
Tokyo is coming very soon we're going to all have to give up our
dreams."
Setsuna finished her tea and stood, "And she is wrong," the
Guardian of Time
simply said and left.
"As I said, what the hell just happened?" Makoto repeated.
End Week One
JG